Introduction
Building the concept of explorers and explorations.
  • Livingstone Mouse by Pamela Duncan Edwards – Tea Party
  • Encounter by Jane Yolen
  • Videos of space exploration; discuss the fears, motives and traits of explorers
  • What makes a Good Explorer from Curriculum guide.
  • Age of Exploration from Curriculum guide as an introduction for maps and locations of countries.


Geography
Use map skills to locate places on maps and globes, and the four hemispheres formed by the equator and prim meridian.
(SOL 3.5-VBO 3.5.1-3.5.6)
  • Use Map Makers Toolkit to review: oceans, continents, equator, prime meridian, hemispheres, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Mali. Introduce Spain, France, England, St. Augustine, San Salvador, Quebec, Jamestown.
  • Songs for continents and oceans
  • Discovery Education – http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/


History
Analyze the discovery of the Americas by Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Cartier, and Newport
(SOL 3.3 - VBO 3.3.1-3.3.6)


Geography
Interpret geogrphic information from maps, tables, graphs, and charts.
(SOL 3.6 - VBO 3.6.1-3.6.3)


Literature Links
Where Do You Think You Are Going, Christopher Columbus? – Jean Fritz
Christopher Columbus – Mervyn Kaufman
Cod’s Tale – Mark Kurlansky
Meet Christopher Columbus – AKJ
American in the Time of Columbus – Heinemann
Young Christopher Columbus – Troll
Pedro’s Journey – Sundance
Jacques Cartier – Virginia Experience
Juan Ponce de Léon – Virginia Experience
Christopher Columbus – Virginia Experience
Christopher Newport – Virginia Experience
Explorers Searching for Adventure – Steck Vaughn
St. Augustine – Cobblestone
Picture Book of Christopher Columbus – David A. Adler
Christopher Columbus: Navigator to the New World – I Asimov
If You Were There in 1492 – B. Brenner
Westward with Columbus – J. Dyson
The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria – Dennis B. Fradin
Explorers – Dennis B. Fradin
Sailing to America, Colonists at Sea – James E. Knight
They Sought a New World – W. Kurelek
Who Discovered America? Mysteries and Puzzles of the New World – P. Lauber
In 1492 – Jean Marzollo
Christopher Newport – Amy William Boykin
Christopher Columbus – Stephen Krensky
The Story of Christopher Columbus: Admiral of the Ocean – Mary Pope Osborne
Columbus: My Journal, 1492-1493 – Peter Roop
Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus – Peter Sis
Cartier: Finder of the St. Lawrence – Ronald Syme

Hot Seat
Find the Fiction/Two Truths and a Lie
Think Links